Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger American/Ruger 77

I just got back from the range. A RARE nice calm day with NO wind. I brought my grandsons' Ruger American .270 to try some different loads and was shocked at how well it shot. 3 different 3 shot groups @ 100 yds. shot right at 1". One was actually.880' I moved to 200 yds. and shot a 3 shot group of 1.75. I bought my son a Ruger 77 in 25/06 back in1975, and I had a Ruger 77 Hawkeye in7mm/08 that I bought a few years ago, and while they're much better looking rifles ( in my opinion) it took a LOT of tinkering and load development to shoot as well as this American is shooting with No tinkering, except lightening the trigger. I was shooting Hornady 150 with RL-22 . What is your experience with the American compared to the 77?

Same. The only RAR that I've shot that wouldn't shoot 5-shots MOA or better is an RAR--Predator in 22-250 that shoots close to MOA, but hasn't grouped that small yet, although I'm holding out hope that I'll find the combination of components that are in sync with that barrel's sweet spot.

I’ve actually had very good results with both recently - in fact every Ruger 77 Mark II (a .257 Roberts, 250-3000, .260 Remington, 7.62X39 and a .6.8 SPC) I’ve picked up lately has shot extremely well (the 7.62X39 actually has produced 1/2 MOA groups on a consistent basis!!) - Ruger is (and mostly always has) putting good products on the market.

PennDog

Wyomike, that's usually the way it is with Ruger Americans.

In 1975 Ruger outsourced its barrels to a number of makers, some were as good as the best, others...not so much. When they made the move to Prescott AZ and started making their own barrels, they have been uniformly good..on all models IMO..though honestly I can't warm up to the Bic rifles...

I've not had problems getting MkII and Hawkeyes to shoot MOA or better.

Ive got an American, 7-08, I bought my grandson. That rifle will flat out shoot itty bitty groups with just about everything I load for it!! With that said, its not an aesthetically pleasing rifle but for the market and demographic it was designed for Ruger hit a home run with it.

On another note, Bell & Carlson has some really nice after market stocks that will turn these rifles into things of beauty, well just look better!! LOL

http://www.bellandcarlson.com/index.cfm?category=1136

I struggle with the idea of putting a $300 stock on a $400 rifle and wonder if the money would have been better spent on a $700 rifle to start with.

I've restocked some RAR-Ps with Boyds laminated stocks and wondered if it was money well spent. Still not sure that it was, but the stock ergs work better for me.

I understand your thoughts but IMO, and its exactly worth what you paid for it, the stock is where Ruger missed it with the American. The stock is just plain tupperware feeling and looking but like I said earlier the demographic these rifles were designed for are awesome!! I plan on putting a stock on the American I have bought!!

I purchased a Ruger American in 7mm-08 for my son last year. It shoots very well with factory ammo. We have used it to take multiple deer. I would definitely purchase again.

I guess I got a lemon. Mine was a 30-06. After multiple bullet/powder combos in 150, 165, and 180gr, two scopes, factory and Boyd's stocks, and trigger adjustment, the best I could ever get was about 1.5MOA. I gave up and traded it. I wanted to like it, but I'm just too accustomed to the quality level of my M77s and it just felt cheap. The factory stock was awful and I hated the zipper sound the bolt made when operating it. My M77s may take some tinkering, and they may be finicky about loads, but I'll take them any day over an American.

I've used ruger 77s since 1974 or thereabouts. My tang 270win was replaced by a mk2 in 30-06, which I used about 10 days ago to kill a cow elk. Right now I'm sitting in a deer stand with a Hawkeye in 308 win. I'm a wood/blue guy, although I have a model 70 ew which I have killed elk and deer with. Never owned a ruger American but have shot several owned by friends. To me, they fit the mold of the young gun buyers of today. Nothing fancy, just a practical, usually sufficiently accurate for a few days hunting per year. In that regard, the American is perfect. But for this older hunter, I'll take the mk2/Hawkeye any day. We're all different and I hope ruger sells millions of those Americans, but I also hope they continue to produce the Hawkeyes.

I havent either, but my model 77's always needed to be glass bedded and the triggers were severely lacking, needing a lighter spring and honed/polished.

I've had hit and miss on Mod 77s. Overall, the SS/Synthetic models have been the fastest to "make right". But then, I like to tinker ( or have my gunsmith tinker for me, ha) I can see the attraction of an affordable "accurate" rifle. I grew up with "junk" until could afford nice rifles. My first Model 77 was a tanger .280. It shot very well, but the trigger was pretty hard. At least it was crisp! Mod 77s are tanks! I look at the RA and such as "throw away rifles." Just me. The Mossberg Patriot has good lines...but just different.

I like the stock ergs and the magazine on the Mossberg Patriot better then those on the RAR and despite the general lack of respect for Mossberg centerfire rifles, from me too, the Patriot that I bought to loan to my son's friend last year has proven to be accurate enough to hit a deer in the lungs at a 1/4 mile and all for about $300. I'm taking the boys to our spot south of the Platte River on Saturday morning and expect that they will have punched at least one tag each before the sun goes down Saturday evening.

Since the Patriot is probably the least expensive dangerous game rifle, when chambered in 375 Ruger, I wonder if it has much of a following from folks who live around alpha predators in AK.

I had a couple of 77 RSIs in 243 that were only 5 serial numbers apart. One of the them shot pretty good groups, but the other had a constantly shifting POI, even when I put the barreled action in a 77 R stock with a 100% free floating barrel. I had the poor shooter rebored/rechambered from 243 to 260 and now it is capable of shooting good groups back in its original stock.

I've had several of both. If I had to have a rugged dependable rifle that would function anywhere , any time, any weather, no excuses, the 77 would be near, if not at the top of my list. But accuracy with all of them has been acceptable at best. The newer versions have been much better, but still not as good as many other brands.

I've yet to see an American that wouldn't just plain shoot. No need to waste money on an aftermarket stock, there is no way it'll make it any more accurate and if anything might mess it up. Like they say, if it ain't broke.....

Yesterdays target from the range with a Ruger Predator 223 @ 200 yards. I paid $350 for the rifle and $239 for the 6X SWFA Super Sniper scope. Lot'a performance for a little money.

That's a 3/8" group with Fiocchi 50 gr factory loads. The taped over holes aren't mine. I just taped over the holes on a target someone else left up and used it

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/14280149/ruger-223-200

There are not many $700 rifles on the market that will shoot as well as the Ruger Americans will. The ones I can think of are Tikkas, but the same people bitching about the Ruger bitch about the Tikka's "tupperware" stocks and magazines too.

So, the options are buy a Ruger American and put a $300 stock on it, give the trigger a quick adjustment and shoot small groups, buy a Tikka, give the trigger a quick adjustment and shoot small groups, buy a Remington, put it in a new stock, get a new trigger put on it, and probably have to have the action trued and a new barrel put on it and maybe shoot small groups, or buy a Savage, do a trigger adjustment, put it in a new stock and shoot small groups.

Or, you have to bump your price tag to the $850-1000 level to get a Browning, a Savage with the Accustock, a Tikka CTR, or similar, or bump your budget to the $1500 range and get into the Barrett Fieldcraft, Kimber, MRC, or similar.

It seems that the Ruger American is a pretty good deal to me.

Agreed, RARs are a good deal if they fit the buyer, but they don't fit me all that well. If B&C inletted their Weatherby-style Medalist stock for the RAR-P I'd probably try one and if it fit me well, I'd buy a few more for the other RAR-Ps that reside here.

I am a tinkerer and have been semi-retired for nearly 17 years, so I have plenty of time to tinker. I enjoy gathering the parts and putting a rifle together more than I do hunting, well maybe except for squirrel hunting, so a factory specs rifles that doesn't need tinkering take most of the fun out of the shooting sports experience for me. Different folks, different strokes.

I am wondering how the Mossberg patriot in the 6.5 PRC shoots? Or, for that matter, one in 6.5 Creedmoor? When do you think Ruger will chamber the RA in the 6.5 PRC? IF the Ruger is that much more accurate than the Patriot, seems like a shoo in to me...

Like some others have stated, I have had good luck with both RAR and Hawkeyes lately. My Hawkeye .338 WM is pretty darn accurate, and recoil is not as bad as my .300 WM. The RAR is a .270, and it will shoot everything ok, and somethings great.